


Worries

by Fox_Wanders_Forever



Series: PMD Shorts [4]
Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, a bit of angst, established found family, when you don't remember your past and you think you might be a violent criminal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 09:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18989836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fox_Wanders_Forever/pseuds/Fox_Wanders_Forever
Summary: After a troubling realization, Jason is left confused and concerned. Luckily, he has someone to talk to.(An underrated hero and partner dynamic.)





	Worries

Jason growled and swatted the leaf on his head away from his face. Normally he had more patience for the extra appendage, but today his frustration was boiling. He’d been distracted in the day’s exploration, and he’d nearly let Emily get badly hurt! He felt a wave of shame as he thought of how scared the poor kid had looked and grimaced; what the hell had he been thinking, what did he know about taking care of a kid? If he was letting that damn poster get to him so much…

The poster.

When he’d first seen it, it had shaken him badly. The face glaring down at him was so  _ young _ . So young and so… Familiar. He knew that face, and that terrified him. Why would he know a violent criminal? Was he… 

That would be crazy though.

… Or maybe not. He didn’t remember his past after all, and he didn’t remember any fear of Grovyle. Maybe he too had been a violent criminal before all of this. But then, what about-

“So that’s where you were!” A squeaky voice called out, making Jason jump several feet in the air before realizing who the source of the voice was.

“Oh, were you looking for me Emily? I’m sorry.”

“Eh, I found you in the end. I just wanted to bring you some food. You fled from dinner really quickly, no way did you get enough to eat!” Emily’s cheeks sparked for emphasis as she presented a small armload of fruits and berries to her (Admittedly, quite hungry.) guardian. “Ta-daaah!”

“Oh, thank you Emily. I am pretty hungry still…” Now he felt bad, he hadn’t meant to worry her. She was such a good kid; she deserved a better guardian. (Preferably one who could say with absolute certainty that they weren’t a violent criminal.)

“I thought you might be!” Emily laughed, plopping down next to Jason. “You need to eat a whole bunch or else you won’t get big and strong!”

“But if I got too big, I wouldn’t be able to explore dungeons with you anymore!” Jason teased, taking a large bite of an apple anyway.

“Hmm…” She deflated a little, before perking right up. “But, mystery dungeons are special! You can always fit inside a mystery dungeon!” She waved her paws around excitedly. “So there! Now you have to eat all of your dinner!”

“Curses, foiled again.”

Emily laughed, then turned towards him with a serious expression on her small face. “That isn’t what you were so worried about though.”

Jason nearly choked on his food. “What?!”

She huffed and folded her arms across her chest. “You’re upset about something, I can tell. And, since you’re refusing to tell me, it’s something serious.” The angry glare softened a bit. “You’re my family now, Jason. Whatever this is, it’s clearly eating you up inside. You don’t have to tell me but…” She paused and looked so sad that Jason’s heart practically ripped in half. “If there’s anything I can do to help you, please tell me. I really do want to help you.”

“... It’s about that wanted poster.”

“The picture of that scary criminal?” Jason nodded in confirmation. “Gosh, he sounds really dangerous doesn’t he? I mean, to steal a time gear you’d need to be pure evil!” Emily bristled, long ears flattening against her skull. “He’d better hope he never runs into me!”

“Haha, he wouldn’t know what hit him!” He laughed before looking serious again. “That isn’t the issue though.”

“Huh? Then what…”

“When I saw his picture I had this weird feeling. Like I knew him.”

“WHAT?!” Emily jumped up and stared at Jason in utter shock. “You knew him!? Did you remember anything else?? Do you know why he’s doing this??? Did this have anything to do with how you ended up on the beach all alone with no memories???? Did y-” 

“No.” He gently placed his hoof on Emily’s frantically waving arm, then waited for her to calm down before continuing. “I didn’t really remember anything. It’s just the sense that I know him, perhaps very well. I don’t have any concrete memories yet.”

“Oh. I’m sorry…” Emily visibly deflated, sitting back down 

with a sigh. 

“It’s fine.I think that’s a reasonable response to hearing something like that.” Jason gave her his best reassuring smile and she perked up a little.

“Okay. That’s not all though, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” She paused, looking uncertain. After a moment, she tried again. “Well, what you just said was a real shock! But it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d get this upset over.” 

“I wasn’t scared.”

“Eh?”

“And I don’t remember anything about my past.”

“Well, yeah.”

“What if…” Jason swallowed, whispering so quietly that Emily could barely hear him. “What if I’m not a good person either? What if I did bad things too? And if I’m a bad person…” 

“Can I really be trusted to take care of a child?”

“Jason!” His head snapped up, and he found himself staring at an absolutely furious Emily. “That’s ridiculous! You’re getting so worked up over a guess? That you don’t have any solid proof to support? Get real!” She was yelling now, tears falling down her face and matting her fur. “And anyway, even if you were a bad person in the past, you clearly aren’t now!” Her cheek pouches sparked, killing any objections Jason might have had instantly. “Would a bad person have tried so hard to help a complete stranger?”

“Well no, but-”

“But nothing! You’ve helped me so much, Jason. You are a wonderful friend and and amazing guardian, so stop being so hard on yourself!”

Despite the scorching look being directed at him, Jason couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you Emily, it really means a lot that you have such faith in me." He pulled her into a hug, which she returned with incredible strength.

“Good! No more being sad for today, it’s too late for that!” The biggest smile yet spread across Emily’s face as she curled up next to him on the mat. Jason laughed and returned to eating. He was still a little worried, but if Emily believed in him, then he would get through it. 

A soft snoring interrupted Jason's thoughts, and he looked over to see Emily fast asleep in a little ball. From the look on her face, he guessed that she was having a nice dream, a thought that put a smile on his face as he turned to watch the night sky.

_ Everything's going to be _ okay.

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's the unnamed thief from part one again! He seems to have many children. (Found family is my favorite trope, leave me alone.)
> 
> An important thing to note is that Jason is much older than Emily. He would be in his late 30s, while she is only 14. This is not a shipfic, please do not treat it like one.


End file.
